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Written question asked by Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru) on Thursday, 23 April 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 8 May 2026. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Lithium-ion Batteries: Hazards

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many incidents have been reported of lithium batteries (1) exploding, or (2) causing fires, in the past five years.

Answer

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collects data on incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England, including information on the cause of the fire and the source of ignition.

This data is published in a range of fire statistics releases, available on GOV.UK at: Fire statistics - GOV.UK (attached).

Our new Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP) has recently been rolled out, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect, with data covering lithium-ion batteries role in fire incidents potentially able to be included in the future.

However, the data currently collected does not identify whether incidents attended by fire and rescue services were caused by or involved lithium‑ion battery failures, nor does it record whether a battery exploded. As a result, the Department is unable to provide figures for incidents involving lithium batteries in England over the past five years.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL16699
Session
2024-26
Attachment
Fire statistics
Subjects
Fires Explosions Lithium-ion batteries
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk